Tom Cruise goes over to the dark side in his latest movie, “Collateral.” He
plays Vincent, a contract killer with a heavy schedule of asassinations
to complete before the night ends. Luckily for him, he cons a
cab driver, Max (Jamie Foxx), into driving him around for the
evening. Cruise flashes some money at Foxx and gets him to go
against company policy for the first, but not the last time.
Soon they are off and Vincent begins his night’s work as
he shoots a low level drug dealer who falls out the window onto
Max’s cab parked just below.
Enter Tom Cruise’s gun and the main element which drives
this carjacking nightmare. Foxx plays his part with sincerity,
trying not to freak out as the killings get more and more brutal.
On the way, we learn about Vincent’s bad childhood, his
cruel sense of humor and his twisted morals. He’s basically
a sociopath who’s good at his job.
The occassional, clever banter between driver and passenger
slowly subsides as Max realizes he has to try and stop this nut
from completing his rounds. The L.A. nightlife becomes the backdrop
for Vincent’s reign of terror with a few detours that give
the audience a chance to see other sides of the two main characters.
The story has a sluggish start but gets revved up soon enough,
building momentum as it rushes forward toward its screeching
halt of an end. Here again, I must point out a lack of interest
in any of the characters. Foxx wants to start his own Limo company,
but he can’t seem to take the leap of faith required to
do it. He chats flirtingly with a lawyer who worries about losing
her next big case. Vincent waxes creepily about the universe
and life in general. A good cop gives 110 percent but it still
isn’t enough.
We should care about these problems if the film makers have
done their job, but we don’t. There is not enough character
development here to make us worry one way or the other what happens.
When Cruise “caps” somebody, we jump, we wince, or
we shout “Whoa!”, but we don’t really fell any
loss.
It’s a fun ride, a dangerous ride, but no scarier or emotionally
involving than a few turns on a ferris wheel. The movie just
finally stops and we are let off. There are a few good thrills
here, and some nice supporting performances. It’s not worth
the admission fee of $8.50 however. If Cruise could have been
more menacing or Foxx a little more panic stricken, this team-up
may have become a classic. Instead, these two characters just
sit there and idle.
